Flight of a Sparrow
by Anagram for Grace
Summary: Hunted for her affinity with animals, Sperra has to do more than just hide herself to survive. She must also hide her terrible Grace. But thanks to a another meddling Graceling, even more is at stake.
1. Lady Katsa

She knew how Lady Katsa felt about her. She was well versed in reading another's body language and waves of mistrust fairly rolled from her lithe form. Sperra couldn't find it in herself to blame the Graceling fighter. No one seemed to trust Sperra.

She had to give Katsa credit, though. Even though the blue and green eyed young woman was suspicious of her, she continued to help her through the drills. Sperra had none of the fighting skills Katsa was Graced with, but she did have her own advantages.

Not that she would use them on a human, of course.

Sperra was Graced as dramatically as Katsa and if Lady Katsa knew the exact nature of her Grace, Sperra was quite certain she would not be welcomed to train with the others. As it was, no one – excepting herself – knew the exact nature of the shy girl's Grace. Sperra preferred it that way and did her best not to interact with the other girls and women learning to use a weapon.

Sperra's eyes, one the color of the twilit sky and the other the deep purple worn by kings, followed Katsa's impossibly fast movements as she demonstrated how to defend oneself against multiple enemies. She spun her solitary ring idly while she thought of other ways she could stop her enemies without ever having to move. She started in horror once she registered her own thoughts and cringed away from the idea of using her Grace. Her Grace that made others despise her so.

Katsa's voice brought Sperra back to herself. "We're finished for the day."

Sperra brought her gaze to meet Katsa's but dropped her eyes to the floor immediately. "I'm sorry, Lady Katsa."

Katsa considered her briefly. "You're a Lienid."

Sperra lowered her head in recognition of the fact. Her dark hair, tanned skin, jewelry, and manner of speaking were impossible to disguise.

"What brings you to Wester?" Katsa asked sharply.

For the first time Sperra gave her a quick smile, still refusing to meet Katsa's eyes for more than a moment. "I missed the sessions you did in Ror City. I'm not very in touch with what happens in the kingdom," she explained. "My Grace gives me an affinity for animals." At least, that's what she told others.

Katsa studied the strange Lienid girl. In Liened, Gracelings were treated with respect and never feared to meet the eyes of another person, Graced or not. And Lienid's wore a ring for every member of their family while this girl wore only one.

"You're wondering about my rings," Sperra commented. "I'm an orphan. I've never known my parents."

Katsa's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps it would be best if you didn't attend tomorrow's lessons."

Sperra nodded expressionlessly and turned away without another word. She wasn't surprised. This always happened. People weren't comfortable around her unless she forced them into it. She wondered how much more uncomfortable people would be if they knew her Grace was not a way with animals but something worse. People naturally hated those Graced with mind-reading, Sperra didn't want to risk knowing how much they would hate mind-control.


	2. Aetomire

It had been a year since training with Lady Katsa and Sperra had found every bit of combat training she had learned completely and utterly useless. Perhaps it had something to do with her avoidance of men. She had no need for combat and therefore never used it. Instead, she spent her time in the forests at the foot of the mountains in Lienid.

She had been living in one particular clearing for months. Her home was made of a giant tree with a hollow base. The space within was large enough for her to sleep comfortably, as long as she kept her knees to her chest. All in all, the clearing was very convenient with its fruit bearing plants and fresh water stream that cut through it.

Sometimes a bear that lived farther up the mountain would trundle through to eat the berries that grew in abundance. Whenever he appeared, he would allow Sperra to approach him and stroke his thick, coarse fur. While humans distrusted her, animals were naturally drawn to her.

The bear's schedule was fairly regular and Sperra was expecting him that day. It was late spring and the day was warm even though it was just beginning. The bear would arrive around midday so Sperra had several hours of quiet to herself before she would have company. The thought made her laugh. As an orphaned Graceling, the King Ror himself had offered to adopt her and raise her as a lady of the court but it hadn't taken long for the royal family to grow uncomfortable around her. Especially at a time when she was too young to control her gift.

She had returned to the orphanage where she was treated with kindness and respect for her Grace – which she never showed to anyone – but kept apart from the other children by whatever part of her Grace made others so frightened of her. It wasn't for lack of trying that she had come to the conclusion that she would live a life of solitude. She had found the fact to be inevitable, especially after she'd discovered a sufficient cover for her Grace. She was believed to have an affinity for animals. They could sense her and would seek her out. Hunters from all of the seven kingdoms suddenly grew incredibly interested in her.

Now, at the age of seventeen, Sperra was wholly self-sufficient. It wasn't difficult with what her Grace allowed her to do. Even she didn't know what she could accomplish yet.

That was another part of her forced solitude. Curiosity demanded she discover the extent of her Grace. Fear still kept her from doing so.

Sperra knew that she could control the minds of those around her. She could make them feel what she wanted them to. She could persuade them to believe every word she said. She didn't even have to say the words she wanted them to believe; just the sound of her voice was enough. If she sang, she held everyone who heard her spellbound. She exerted the same power over animals. If she wanted a singing companion, she had only to whistle a few notes and the birds of the forest would respond.

With humans, Sperra would sometimes actively make them fear her. She didn't want to control them, she hated her Grace and so she forced herself into separation.

A rustling in the woods snapped Sperra away from her thoughts. It was too early for the bear and yet she could sense it was him. He never moved so loudly.

The bear's roar of terror was enough to tell Sperra what was happening. _Hunters._

In a moment, the animal crashed into the clearing and charged straight for Sperra. She knew what the consequences would be for her if she was found. She would be recognized and the hunters would try their best to force her to help them with their murder. But she couldn't let the bear be killed. And she wouldn't tamper with the hunters' minds. Graced or not, no man's mind was hers to control.

Sperra positioned herself in front of the bear as she heard approaching footsteps coming through the underbrush. She was a tall girl though slender and with a certain wild appearance about her. Her hair was loose and fell well past her shoulders in waves of dark auburn. Her feet were bare and her dress, though clean, was ragged and patched. She was very pretty but the look on her face made her almost frightening.

"Damn it!" came a shout. A man's voice. It sounded as though the speaker had fallen. Sperra wondered briefly if maybe she had anything to do with his delay.

With more curses, a man appeared on the edge of Sperra's clearing. He stopped suddenly upon seeing her.

"Don't move," he cautioned her as he reached slowly for an arrow from the quiver on his back. She realized suddenly that he was hardly a man, more a boy really. He couldn't have been much older than she and his clothing was just as tattered. He reached blindly for an arrow, all of which were dancing just out of his reach.

"He won't hurt me," Sperra said in a strong voice, standing her ground. "And you won't hurt him."

The boy blinked in surprise. His face was streaked with grime and he looked exhausted. His hair was a brown mess with what appeared to be feathers woven into it. He had large eyes, one grey and one blue, surrounded by a tangle of dark lashes. He would have been pretty if not for the cut of his jaw which made him too masculine for pretty. His face was interesting. Sperra found with surprise that she rather liked it.

"Who the _hell_ are you?" he asked, sounding amazed. What she could see of his ears was covered with gold piercings. His fingers, she noted, were also covered in rings.

"I'm no one," she said simply. "Just a girl defending my friend. Sorry, hunter," she'd wanted to use the word poacher but hadn't, "you'll have to find your game elsewhere."

The boy threw back his head and laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh but more of a desperate one.

"I have been out here for _weeks_," he said to the sky, "and the first chance I have of fresh meat is blocked by a pretty little pixie that lives in the woods. Just my luck."

"I'm not a pixie," Sperra said with as much arrogance as she could muster, which wasn't much. She hadn't talked to another human in so long she was inexplicably nervous.

"And I'm not a hunter," the boy said heavily and let his bow drop to the ground. "I am a vagabond who's run out of food and sanity all at once. I don't suppose I'm dead, am I?"

"You seem rather alive to me."

"Pity," he said, dropping down beside his bow. "I was so hoping to be dead."

Sperra wasn't entirely sure if this boy was normal for people or if she had discovered an extreme oddity. If what he said was true, and she knew very well that it was, then he had also been living in the woods like her. He didn't look as though he'd been as successful as she had been.

"Are you hungry?" she asked finally.

"No," he said in a scathing tone. "I was trying to kill that bear so I could make a boat out of it."

"Seems a silly thing to make a boat out of," Sperra commented.

The boy cast her a suspicious glance. "Who are you? If you're not some sort of imagined, magic creature intent on obstructing my every chance for survival."

"I'm Sperra," she said simply, turning away from the boy and to the bear that was still crouched behind her.

"Sperra," he repeated. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm Aetomire but please call me Aeto."

She turned back to him curiously. "You're a Graceling."

"So are you," he pointed out. "Explains a lot," he added with consideration of the bear.

"What's your Grace?" She ignored his comment.

Aeto grinned, which made Sperra like his face even more. "I never lose anything."

Sperra's brow furrowed and she looked puzzled. "You mean competitions?"

Aeto sprawled out on his back, crushing his quiver. "I mean anything: fights, objects, people," he glanced at the bear that Sperra was stroking, "game."

"Well," Sperra said harshly, "you'll have to look elsewhere."

The only sound Aeto made was a groan. Sperra wondered briefly how long he had tracked the bear and how long it had been since he had last eaten.

She turned away from the boy and buried her face in the thick fur of the bear's neck. The animal smelled of the woods and berries and the certain, slightly unpleasant scent that belonged only to bears. She could feel the warmth radiating off of the animal's body. If what Aeto said was true, he would always be able to find the bear again and even if she made him swear, desperation could still drive him to kill the beast. If she helped him, would he leave her and her clearing in peace? She was oddly reluctant to follow that bargain. But maybe she could help him in a different way? Maybe she could teach him how to survive.

She turned back to Aeto who was still staring up at the one patch of visible sky. "I can help you."

He sat up and stared at her as though he'd never seen a girl before. "You're changing your mind?"

Sperra threw her arms protectively around the bear, who made a slight groan of protest. "No! I said I would help you, not harm him."

"So what are you offering?"

"Well," she began, "I know more about this area than you do. I know which plants are safe to eat. I know where all the fresh water streams are. I can help you find water. I can teach you all of this."

Aeto's mismatched eyes narrowed and he studied her. Sperra had never felt so exposed, as though he could see through her and read her secret.

"And what do you desire in return?"

"You never breathe a word about me to anyone," she said boldly.

He considered her again, taking in everything from her bare feet to the hand still resting on the large bear's head. "I doubt you need the protection."

"I don't," Sperra said, turning away from him and walking towards the stream. "They need it from me," she added in an undertone to herself.


	3. Monsters in Their Own Right

The events of the day had gone in a way that was entirely unexpected. Sperra had thought herself to be the only human for miles and all at once a boy had appeared in her very clearing. And now she was teaching him the many things she had learned from the wilderness.

Shortly after showing Aeto to the stream, the bear had disappeared back to its den and Sperra had known, with a sense of sadness, that it would not be returning. Not while Aeto stayed. Unlike other humans, Sperra knew how much animals remembered.

As it turned out, Aeto had not eaten a full meal in several days and had therefore gorged himself on all the berries and plant life Sperra had been able to bring him. Then he had returned to the stream alone to bathe while Sperra was left to find a place for him. She may have been willing to reveal much of what she knew to him, but he was never going to take her "home."

Aeto returned to the clearing bare-chested with rivulets of water running down his torso. His skin was lightly tanned with the bands around his upper arms that all Lienid men bore. He didn't see a sign of Sperra but with his Grace, he knew he would be able to find her without problem.

How interesting the day had been. That morning, he had been on the trail of a bear that, once he killed it, would have provided him with enough food for at least a week. Not to mention he could sell the pelt or trade it for anything he needed. Then, instead of killing the bear as he'd hoped, he'd stumbled across a girl who looked half mad who lived alone in the forest and the bear happened to be her special pet. It was just his luck.

He shook his head, droplets of water flying from his hair. It was impossible to ignore the fact that the girl _had _been helpful. Even without the meat of the bear, he was better fed than he had been in ages. And cleaner, too. His shirt which was torn in many places was laid out in the sun by the stream.

"Do you really win everything you try?"

He spun around. She had appeared behind him suddenly and without warning. Her large eyes – one purple and the other dark blue – took in his state of undress and she flushed and looked away.

Aeto grinned to himself, wild as she may seem, he was now quite certain that Sperra had very little experience with men. Which had to be due to her secluded lifestyle. He was very aware that she was pretty. Maybe even beautiful.

"Yes," he answered simply.

Her eyes darted up to meet his and then flitted away again. "But that doesn't match with your own description of your Grace."

"That's because it has nothing to do with my Grace, I'm only very good at whatever I do," he answered. "Am I really so hideous you can't even look at me?"

Sperra's eyes flashed as she met his gaze and held it. When she was irritated her eyes seemed to blaze and color flooded her cheeks. She most definitely was beautiful.

"Despite what you seem to think about me, I _do _have a sense of morals," she hissed.

The back of Aeto's neck prickled. "What on earth _is _your Grace?"

The threatening expression disappeared from her face immediately. "I have an affinity for animals."

He suspected there was something she wasn't telling him but he didn't press it. He still knew nothing about this girl who lived in the woods. Why was she there? Why was she alone? How long had she been there? Why did she have only one ring?

"So," he said, settling down at the base of the largest tree in the clearing, "what's your story?"

She laughed softly, enchantingly. "I feel I have the right to hear your story first. After all, you came to me."

"I wasn't searching for you specifically," he pointed out. "You just happened to be in my way. But if you prefer to hear my exciting tale first, you may as well sit down. It's quite long."

Cautiously, she sank to the ground in front of him. The way she held herself, she looked as though she might dart away at any moment. Perhaps spending time only with animals had made her behave slightly as though she was one.

"Settled then?" Aeto asked. Then he was overwhelmed with a strange desire to tell her everything. And so he began.

"I was born the third child of eight to a man and a woman who made their living from the fur trade. My father was a hunter and my mother sold the furs and took care of the children. I am their only son so as soon as I was old enough, my father took me with him into the forest.

"I couldn't've been more than six or seven years old the first time I went with him. By that point my eyes had been settled for a few years but my Grace hadn't shown up. My mother worried it never would. She was always very concerned about that.

"The first night of our trip, I spotted a doe but she ran off before my father was able to kill her. I remember he put his hand on my head and told me we would just have to keep looking elsewhere. I didn't listen to him, of course. Without bothering to think – I was only seven or so, mind you – I set off by myself to track the deer.

"I have no idea how my parents managed to keep our home. My father had no skills for tracking animals. I doubt he knew it was possible before I showed him how. I can't imagine what was going through his mind when he looked around and noticed I was gone.

"Enough of that, soon enough it was obvious that I was exceptionally good at finding anything I'd seen once before. The people in the village would ask me to find items they'd lost. If they could describe them to me well enough I was usually able to do it without ever seeing the lost item first. As talented I was with finding whatever anyone had been foolish enough to misplace, I was much better at tracking living things.

"When I was twelve the poachers first appeared. The land was teeming with game around my home so naturally it drew them all.

"Originally, none of them were able to kill so much as a rabbit but before long they had learned about the success of my father and came to investigate."

He paused briefly.

"They had it figured out as soon as they saw me. It wasn't really hard to put together. Animals everywhere that were impossible to catch and one profitable man with a Graceling son. Naturally, the poachers kidnapped me and took me with them.

"They weren't horrible to me. For several years I was moved all over the seven kingdoms like the most prized hunting dog to ever trot. Hunters and poachers paid each other huge sums of money for me. I can't remember how many times I've changed hands, how many times I've been bought and sold. You can't imagine the feeling of knowing you were only here as long as no one raised your price.

"I probably shouldn't tell you how many animals I've helped men find and kill. You'd probably wish me dead, being the protector of all beasts and birds.

"I haven't only helped kill animals. You should know that. Powerful men used me to hunt their enemies. I alone am the reason…" He shuddered and refused to look up at her. "I've tried to forget these parts, but I feel – if you are going to help me – you have a right to know what you're keeping around.

"I once tracked a man to the middle of the mountains at the Sunder and Monsea border. His wife and children were with him –"

"Stop!" Sperra cried.

Aeto hadn't realized that he'd taken his knife from his belt and had been gripping the blade tightly in his agitation. He noticed the pain then and saw a trickle of blood leak out from between his fingers.

"That's enough of your history for now," she said firmly, getting to her feet. She reached her hand out towards him as though to comfort him but she let it fall instead to her side. "I'm sorry. I'm going to find something to use as a compress for your hand."

"Don't bother," he said brusquely, clambering to his feet. "It's not deep and I've had worse." He was in disbelief with himself, had he really been about to tell this girl everything?

"Just in case," she muttered and with that she turned and ran from him as though he were a monster.

* * *

><p><em>No, no, no, no, NO! <em>She was appalled with herself. She was a monster. She should have sent him away when she had the chance. Instead, she had let her curiosity outweigh her judgment and had used her Grace on him.

A sufficient distance from where she had left Aeto, Sperra sank to the ground trembling. She had made him want to share his story and he had unconsciously had fought back by injuring himself. Of course he wouldn't be aware that was what happened but she knew it was the truth all the same. Whenever she had used her Grace on a human the results had been the same. No matter what Aeto had been forced to do, he was nowhere near the demon she was.

The thought that she could still send him away made her hopeful for his sake. She could make him want to leave until he was out of the reach of her Grace. But with his own Grace, he would be able to find her wherever she went if he wanted to. _Not that he would_, she told herself sternly. A small part of her wanted to try, just to see if he would come back. She didn't dare ask herself if she wanted him to return or not.

Sperra had no idea what was happening and it was frightening her. Because of her Grace, she knew more about other people than just what they would tell her. After just a few days, it was as though she knew someone for weeks. When this had occurred previously, it had never bothered her. With Aeto she felt as though he was someone she had once known long before that she remembered well even though he had forgotten her. It was almost like a personal insult even though they had only met that morning under extraordinary circumstances.

Whatever was happening, it was scaring her. Why wouldn't she just send the Graceling boy away?

Her mind wandered to the way he had looked as he spoke, his head reclined against the trunk of the tree, eyes opening occasionally when he addressed her through the narrative, the way it was possible to see the smooth movement of his muscles under his tanned skin, the rise and fall of his chest.

She had to teach him what she knew and send him off as soon as she could. And she needed to give him reasons to never search for her again, for his own sake.


End file.
